


Anything for You

by starlies



Category: Fire Emblem: Soen no Kiseki/Akatsuki no Megami | Fire Emblem Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn
Genre: Drabble, F/F, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-15
Updated: 2018-01-15
Packaged: 2019-03-05 07:53:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 879
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13383444
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starlies/pseuds/starlies
Summary: In which a queen follows her heart.





	Anything for You

She hated watching Lucia from afar. The word felt sharp and uncomfortable in her mind, but that was as it should be. This was hate. She _hated_ being resigned to seeing her friend from the balcony while she stood below in the courtyard. Because even in the newfound peacetime, the distance between them reminded her of that day.

Geoffrey was adamant, however. She mustn’t roam the grounds while she had a cold – she would worsen her illness and take even longer to recover. Or so her knight insisted. She wasn’t even that ill! She wasn’t _dying._ She didn’t even have a fever – not anymore, anyway. All that bothered her now was maybe a touch of a sore throat, but that wasn’t enough reason to keep her on bed rest. This was ridiculous.

So the world she saw today was limited to what fit into the view of the balcony.

But in watching Lucia from above, her mind always went beyond the balcony, back to that day, and the peculiar pain wormed its way into her mind. Neither sharp nor dull, hot nor cold, she couldn’t quite describe how it felt besides that it was something like longing, or desire.

She pressed her palms against the white balcony rail and sighed.

_She’ll give anything for you._

How long ago was it… months? A year now?

She’d tucked the lock of long blue hair in her dress, concealed beneath her corset. It itched against her skin. She ignored it. The itching, anyway – there were greater inconveniences at hand than an itchy belly.

Though “inconvenience” was a peculiar way to refer to the ugly brown box that stared up at her from the courtyard. The bastard really had the audacity to plant it on castle grounds. It sat there, new and unused and out of place, like a bruise.

And it was threatening to absorb Lucia.

Elincia, the queen. Elincia, the brave queen who looked down at the insurgents and told them _no, no, I will not falter, Crimea will not bow to you._ Elincia who stood a balcony supported by trust and trust alone.

Lucia was resting in the garden today beneath the shade of a crepe myrtle. Fuchsia blossoms exploded over her head as she sat on the stone bench below them, likely taking a break on her way back from training with Geoffrey.

She was so lucky her friend was there at all.

So why was she so far away?

It was clear, it was so so clear now and she should have realized ages ago. _She’ll give anything for you._ She _was_ everything to her. She did not, could not exist without Lucia, her friend, her best friend, her…

Elincia left the bedroom with her skirt gathered in her hands.

Was she being too hasty? No, no, no, no. It was sudden at the time, but it was a long time coming. The burning feeling had stirred within her for a while now – months, years – but only just now did it truly compel her to act. It was a capricious emotion like that.

_I’ll give anything for you._

Servants turned her way as she hustled down the stairs and through the halls, but Elincia passed them before anyone could stop her to ask what she was doing, where she was going. An invisible benefit of taking the title of a queen: people trusted that whatever she was doing, it was important.

Finally, she pushed open the heavy wooden doors and emerged into the warm light of the garden.

Lucia was still there, still resting.

Her eyes were shut, as if she was taking a quick nap. Elincia didn’t put it past her. Everyone needed to relax sometimes, but Lucia was one of the worst offenders of that rule. She was so diligent she tended to forget.

“Lucia,” Elincia said, though her voice was still a little raspy. She coughed softly to clear it.

Lucia’s eyes fluttered open from beneath her feathery blue hair. It fell to her shoulders now. “Elincia? What are you doing out? You’re still recovering from your illness.”

“I… I have something to tell you.” Oh, no. How was she going to explain it? She didn’t have a reason as to why she’d rushed down here, no logical explanation as to why now was the time.

“I’m sure it can wait. Come, I’ll accompany you to your room again, and you can tell me what it is when we’re back up there.”

Lucia rose and walked over to her, but Elincia grabbed her by the arm. “N-no!” she stammered. “I have to tell you now. It… forgive me if I’m acting hastily, or childishly, or stubbornly, but I can’t wait. Perhaps I’ll be able to explain it more clearly later, but I need to tell you _now_. I just do.”

“Elincia?”

She took a breath. Suddenly, the words didn’t come.

Her cheeks felt warm. Why had she run down to the courtyard if only to stumble over her confession? But Lucia only smiled, mellow and true, and took Elincia’s gentle hands in her warm, calloused palms.

And suddenly, the words she wanted to say weren’t necessary. Because Lucia already knew.

It was written in her bright eyes.

_I’ll give anything for you._

_I love you._


End file.
